I still hold out a little bit of hope that Martin Lawrence can bring his career back to the level it was once at. Either doing the same thing ("Blue Streak" was funny, but do we need another one next year, especially after this similar picture?) or making some terribly poor judgements in material (see "Black Knight" or, better yet, don't). Yet, Lawrence has shown flashes of talent over the years - his inspired pairing with Tim Robbins in "Nothing To Lose" worked wonderfully, and that film also offered the best performance Lawrence has offered yet - one that had heart and humor.

"National Security" is both an instance of more of the same and a trailer showing all the funny parts. The best thing I can say about it is that it's not Lawrence's worst, although not by that much. As the picture opens, LAPD officer Hank Rafferty has just lost his partner in a bust at a warehouse. Hank wants to investigate, but his superiors remind him that he's an officer, not a detective. Soon enough, he runs into Earl Montgomery (Lawrence), who has just gotten kicked out of the academy for destruction of property and generally acting obnoxious.

The two meet when Hank suspects that Earl might be stealing his own car that he's locked himself out of. A bee shows up and stings Earl, who's allergic. Hank is trying to swipe it away with his nightstick, and someone's videotaping the whole thing from an angle that makes is look like police brutality. Hank winds up in prison for six months, finding himself paired with Earl when both become security guards. Hank uses the time and the aid of his reluctant new partner to track down the leader (Eric Roberts. Yes, that Eric Roberts) of the gang of smugglers he believes is responsible for the loss of his partner. The smugglers are smuggling a special metal out of the country disguised as beer kegs. Yes, that's the plot.

"Security"'s pairing of Zahn and Lawrence might seem like a good idea on paper, but Zahn's caffinated delivery and Lawrence's timing don't work well together. Surprisingly, Tim Robbins - who certainly isn't known for comedy - proved to be a much better pairing with Lawrence. Lawrence's obnoxiousness still gets a good laugh here and there, but a lot of jokes throughout the picture fall flat (no surprise, given this is written by "I Spy"'s David Ronn and Jay Scherick. Once again, the thin plot seems like filler between jokes), as do every instance of Lawrence's character yelling "What the problem is?" Zahn's yelling and wide-eyed delivery occasionally gets a chuckle, but he's been much better elsewhere. The strangest choice of all is Dennis Dugan, a director ("Happy Gilmore", "Saving Silverman") who has had no previous experience with action. Although paired with ace cinematographer Oliver Wood, Dugan still can't put together an effective action sequence. Another completely forgettable Lawrence feature.